Sludge Watch ==> CSPI Petitions FDA to Regulate Manure, Water and Sanitation on Farms

[Maureen Reilly]

 Sludgewatch Admin:
I would certainly hope that sewage, sewage sludges, and sewage effluent 
would be part of any review of farm sanitation.
This bill looks like it would address the need for sanitary fertilization 
and irrigation practices.

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
NOVEMBER 15, 2006  12:46 PM

CONTACT: Center for Science in the Public Interest    202.332.9110

CSPI Petitions FDA to Regulate Manure, Water and Sanitation on Farms
Consumer Groups Excluded from Senate Hearing on Spinach Outbreak

WASHINGTON - November 15 - The Center for Science in the Public Interest 
(CSPI) formally called on the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to issue 
regulations to ensure the safety of fresh fruits and vegetables. In a 
petition filed with the agency today, CSPI said that inspections and 
mandatory standards governing manure, water and sanitation on farms could 
help reduce the number of food outbreaks linked to produce, such as the 
recent outbreak of E. coli O157:H7-contaminated spinach that sickened 200 
and killed at least four.
"You can't start at the supermarket or even the packing facility if you're 
trying to ensure the safety of melons, tomatoes, spinach and other fruits 
and vegetables. It all starts with safe farming practices," said CSPI food 
safety director Caroline Smith DeWaal. "It is time for FDA to institute 
programs to prevent what happened this fall with spinach, instead of rushing 
in after the fact to alert the public to avoid a hazardous food product."
CSPI's petition asserts that the FDA already has broad legal authority under 
the federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act, the Public Health Service Act, and 
applicable case law that would allow the agency to adopt and enforce 
regulations governing sanitation on farms. Regulations governing the use of 
manure, the cleanliness of irrigation water, and ensuring workers have 
access to bathrooms would all help protect produce from becoming 
contaminated. Outbreak data from the Centers for Disease Control and 
Prevention (CDC) clearly shows that produce has become the leading cause of 
food poisoning outbreaks since 2000.
Specifically, CSPI says the use of raw manure as fertilizer should be 
prohibited during the growing season, and that composting practices should 
be monitored to ensure pathogens are destroyed. Water used for irrigation 
must be tested and found suitable and only potable water should be used in 
produce processing facilities, according to the group. Traceability is key 
in responding to outbreaks, and CSPI says the FDA should ensure that product 
packaging makes it easy to tell which farm a product came from.
CSPI's filing comes as a lame-duck session of the Senate Health, Education, 
Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee holds hearings investigating the 
spinach outbreak. Though FDA, state officials and several businesses are 
testifying, consumer groups and victims have been excluded from the 
committee's deliberations despite protests to outgoing Chairman Mike Enzi 
(R-WY).
"The government urges consumers to eat abundant amounts of fruits and 
vegetables," DeWaal said. "While that is advice consumers should follow, it 
increases the responsibility of federal and state governments to implement 
programs to ensure that these foods are safe for Americans to eat."
CSPI recently called on the state of California to exert its regulatory 
authority on its farms, saying that California could likely act more rapidly 
than the federal government, which has so many food safety agencies that it 
is sometimes not clear which one is in charge.
CSPI says the states' role in the recent outbreaks should make it less 
likely that the lame-duck Senate will take up the so-called National 
Uniformity for Food Act, which would roll back more than 200 state and local 
food laws. Yet some expect the bill's lead sponsor, Senator Richard Burr 
(R-NC), might try to ram it through in the waning days of the session. It 
previously passed in the House.
"The Senate shouldn't consider binding and gagging state food safety 
officials when they are the ones on the front lines protecting Americans 
from tainted food," said CSPI senior attorney Benjamin Cohen.